“I do not,” she said, her tone stiff. “I am a prisoner in my own country, and I was brought here as a gift to King Kairos.”

Andres’s eyebrows shot upward. His older brother wouldn’t even know what to do with a woman as a gift, even if he weren’t bound by marriage vows. “In which case you’re in the wrong room.”

Her expression turned stormy. “He did not wish to keep me. He, in turn, gave me to his brother.”

Andres could not process the absurdity of the statement. This woman, was a gift for him? “Are you telling me that you’ve been regifted?”

She frowned. “I suppose.”

Clearly, she didn’t see the humor in this. But then, if he were the one being passed around like an unwanted gift at a white elephant party, he might be humorless too.

A Christmas present for the man who has everything…

With one band of gold Prince Andres of Petras can erase his past—albeit
pleasurable—sins. But his prospective bride is untamable Princess Zara, so the
playboy prince must seduce her into compliance and crown her by
Christmas!

The wayward princess of Tirimia has spent years hiding her untouched
heart, and her convenient husband-to-be seems determined to keep it that way.
Yet his caresses promise a sensual awakening that's impossible to resist. But
once Zara's given him her hand and her body, it won't be long before he has her
heart…

Andres
is a notorious playboy with no intentions of settling down. Although when his
brother, King Kairos, receives a beautiful woman as a gift, Kairos sees this as
an opportunity to not only make Andres settle down but also to atone for the
wrong he committed.Zara isn’t thrilled
with being used as a royal pawn and she’s not exactly thrilled with her
husband-to-be. She’s determined to rebel and he’s determined to tame her.
Attraction and tempers flare but will they manage to get married before
Christmas?

Okay,
so when you pick up a romance from Harlequin’s Presents imprint, you know that
characters and the setting are often going to be larger than life and kind of
in your face. Yet, Maisey Yates does an amazing job at making A Christmas Vow
of Seduction feel realistic and opulent.

I
felt kind of bad for Zara. Her parents and brother were murdered, she was then
raised by gypsies, now she’s being gifted to the King of Petra who in turn
forces his brother to wed her. While she could have been a sniveling heap,
she’s very wild and unruly. She’s ready and willing to go against any and
everything Andres says.

I
liked Andres butI also hated him. He
can be charming and kind then he can turn around and do something that will
earn him a membership to the arsehat hall of fame. He’s very self-destructive.
He believes that everything he touches will eventually fall apart, so he does
things to cause his relationships to blow up.

Andres
and Zara had this brilliantly charged chemistry but they also had this whole clash
of wills things going on which made their relationship all the more enjoyable. And
I really enjoyed watching Andres try to ‘tame’ Zara.

The
conflict I could see coming from a mile away and I, honestly, just wanted to
scream and Andres not to do it. But he did eventually get it right.

Overall, this was a
fun, spunky, little romance. The plot was very interesting, the characters were
intriguing, and the pacing was brilliant. If you like a bit of fight and
determination in your heroines, then you should give this one a go.

I would like to thank Maisey
Yates for providing us with this lovely pie recipe. I can’t wait to try it!

This
recipe is special to me for two reasons. First of all, this pie crust is an old
family recipe. If done right, it is the best pie crust in the world. My grandma
used to make cherry pie with it, and my mom has used it to make every kind of
pie you there is.

Pie
is something that feels very HOLIDAY to me, no matter what you put in it. But I
like blackberry pie, and winter is the perfect time to rummage around the
freezer and get out the berries you might have frozen from summer. (Or not. I
didn’t pick any this year! But it’s a nice idea!)

The
ingredients to the crust are simple, but following the steps is what gets you
flaky crust and not chewy crust.

Double
9’ Crust —

2
Cups Flour

1
Cup Shortening

1/2
tsp salt

Mix
(press with fork) together until crumbly

Step
2 — (1/2 cup water, additional 1/4 cup flour)

In
a jar mix 1/2 cup COLD water with a 1/4 cup flour, blend well.

Add
to flour mixture. Mix gently until blended well. Handle as little as possible.
Separate pastry into two balls.

3/4
Cup sugar (I like a little tartness, so depending on the berries, I sometimes
put less. If the berries were really firm you might need more)

1/2
tsp cinnamon (optional)

1
Tbsp butter

In
a large bowl, mix sugar, flour, cinnamon. Add berries and mix until coated (I
like to use my hands). Spoon filling into pie pan, dot with butter. Cover with
top pastry. Cut slits in the top, seal and flute. Cover the edges with tin foil
to prevent excessive browning.

Bake
35 to 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown and juice begins to bubble
through slits in crust, removing foil for last 15 minutes of baking. Cool on
cooling rack at least 2 hours. (Or cut into it and take your chances…that’s
what I do!)